The invention concerns a device for separating imbricated flat products, in particular, folding boxes, comprising a delivery belt on which the products are supported in the form of an imbricated flow and are transported at a first transport speed vZ, wherein a transfer conveyor belt is connected downstream of the delivery belt, whose transport speed vA is higher than the first transport speed vZ of the delivery belt.
Folding boxes are produced using, in particular, machines for folding, fastening and gluing the folding box blanks, providing them with a tape or connecting them in a different manner. The flat, i.e. not yet erected, folding boxes are supplied to a piling device in which they are stacked on top of each other to form piles or partial piles. They must be previously separated and counted. This requires a separating device.
The imbricated flow in which the individual folding boxes largely overlap is separated in this separating device such that the folding boxes are transported behind each other into the piling device at a higher speed but smaller separation from each other. Generally, this does not pose a problem if the folding boxes have a regular shape, i.e. have a rectangular cross-section and a substantially uniform thickness.
Separation of an imbricated flow of folding boxes having a non-rectangular shape or an irregular thickness across their surface, is not possible using mechanical means due to the inhomogeneity of the folding boxes which would cause jamming and disturbances within the machine. The imbricated flow is therefore manually separated by counting the desired number of folding boxes and depositing them in the form of a partial pile in a corresponding receptacle in the piling device. This is extremely time and labor-consuming, since manual work of this type can only be performed at limited speeds.
It is therefore the underlying purpose of the invention to provide a device for separating imbricated flat products which separates not only homogeneous, i.e. substantially rectangular, flat products, in particular, folding boxes, but also folding boxes having a non-rectangular cross-section and/or having different thicknesses.